Rahul demands Jaitley's resignation over Mallya's claim
New Delhi, Sep 12 : Hours after fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya said he met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving the country, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday demanded Jaitley's resignation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi should order an "independent probe" into the matter, he said.
"Given Vijay Mallya's extremely serious allegations in London, the PM should immediately order an independent probe into the matter. Jaitley should step down as Finance Minister while this probe is underway," said Gandhi in Twitter.
The fugitive liquor baron, wanted in India for his alleged role in a multi-crore bank loan fraud case, claimed that he had met the Finance Minister before leaving India in 2016 and made an offer of settlement.
"I had a scheduled meeting in Geneva. I met the Finance Minister before I left...repeated my offer to settle with the banks. That is the truth," he told reporters outside a Westminster court where he is contesting an extradition case filed by Indian authorities.
However, Jaitley rejected the Mallya's claim as factually false.
"My attention has been drawn to a statement made to the media by Vijay Mallya on having met me with an offer of settlement. The statement is factually false inasmuch as it does not reflect truth," he said in a Facebook post.
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17,969 acres Wakf property encroached in Karnataka, mostly by Muslims: Minister Khan
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister for Wakf & Minority Welfare B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan told the Legislative Assembly on Monday that 17,969 acres of Wakf property have been encroached upon in the state, mostly by Muslims themselves.
The minister was responding to a question by Afzalpur Congress MLA M Y Patil during the Question Hour.
"Total Wakf property across the state is 1,12,860 acres, out of which only 20,054 acres is in our hands. As many as 17,969 acres have been encroached, 47,263 acres have gone under the Inam Abolition Act and 23,627 acres have gone under the Land Reforms Act," Khan said.
He said that after the Congress government came to power and he became the department's minister, Wakf Adalats were held across the state aimed at removing encroachments.
Noting that 1,12,860 acres of Wakf land were given not by the government, but by private individuals and organisations for the welfare of the community, the minister said encroachments on Wakf property are mostly by the Muslim community itself, not by temples or other communities.
"Encroachments on Wakf land are not by others, they are done by Muslims themselves. Wakf Adalats were held to remove those encroachments, but the BJP made it an issue," he said, adding that encroachment issues are being resolved.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka intervened and said the BJP's objections were not about removing encroachments by Muslims on Wakf land, but about farmers' land, land belonging to schools such as the one studied by Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya, and in some cases land belonging to temples, among others, being claimed as Wakf land.
The BJP is in fact in favour of an investigation into the encroachment of Wakf properties, he said.
Responding to this, the minister clarified that the government is not laying hands on any temples or educational institutions by claiming them as Wakf property.
"To identify encroachments by private people, mostly Muslims, Wakf Adalats were held," he added.
